


Save the Last Dance

by VileVenom



Series: We Are Golden [1]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Inspired By Tumblr, Inspired by Art, M/M, the kev/carlos is dubcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-23
Updated: 2013-11-23
Packaged: 2018-01-02 09:43:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1055295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VileVenom/pseuds/VileVenom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carlos sighed quietly to himself, watching skirts swirl across the dance floor before him. Cecil had all but begged him to attend this ridiculous dance; pleading with him to the point of faking tears, even. And yet, there he stood, cup of wine in hand, leaning against a pillar, with Cecil nowhere in sight. The other man hadn’t even made an appearance yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Save the Last Dance

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this adorable little doodle of Carlos dancing with Kevin by Goddess-in-Green on tumblr:  
> http://goddess-in-green.tumblr.com/post/67736145597
> 
> I turned it into Victorian AU because...that's the only context I can ever think of people ball room dancing.

Carlos sighed quietly to himself, watching skirts swirl across the dance floor before him. Cecil had all but begged him to attend this ridiculous dance; pleading with him to the point of faking tears, even. And yet, there he stood, cup of wine in hand, leaning against a pillar, with Cecil nowhere in sight. The other man hadn’t even made an appearance yet.

"I should have just stayed at my lab," he muttered to himself, taking another sip of his wine. He felt far more comfortable in his simple slacks and shirt, with his rumpled lab coat over top, back in the labs he rented below his apartments. But here, he’d had to wear a proper dress shirt and pants, with the most uncomfortable shoes, and a cravat that scratched against his neck irritably. And that was saying nothing for the lace and frills that Cecil insisted would be a wonderful addition to his suit.

It made him want to crawl into a hole. He felt like a dressed up poodle on parade. It didn’t help that people kept shooting him questioning looks as they wandered the ball room. No one here knew who he was, as many of them were socialites, and although well educated, not familiar with the cutting edge work Carlos did. And even if they were, surely they were wondering why a scientist was at such a social event.

He simply did not fit in with all of the glitz and glitter of the wealthy. The only one who’d ever even caught his eye had been Cecil, and that was simply because the man was too endearing and insistent to ignore. It helped, of course, that Carlos was under Cecil’s father’s employ, and was often bringing paperwork or prototypes to the Palmer mansion, and thus had more than ample opportunity to actually get to know Cecil past the copious amount of frills the other man wore.

Carlos huffed, glancing towards the large grandfather clock that stood in the corner of the ball room, clicking his tongue at noting the time. Nearly ten. He’d arrived to the party at nine, and Cecil had said he’d be right down, since it was his mother’s party. He was obligated to make an appearance. And yet…

Carlos downed the last of his wine, setting the empty glass on a passing waiters tray. He was quite tired of waiting around for Cecil, and being gawked at like he was some sort of special side show attraction. Because yes, thank you, he knew his hair was a frizzy mess, despite the amount of time he’d spent trying to tame and tie it back with a lovely golden ribbon.

He turned to leave, only to run smack into another’s chest. He gasped, stumbling back a little, apology on the tip of his tongue.

"Oh, not to worry," a lilting, cheery voice replied, snagging Carlos’ hand out of the air as he gestured his apology, "I was actually looking for you!"

Carlos blinked, staring up at features that were excessively familiar to him, and yet, were so very different. “You were?” he asked, blinking in confusion, as he was suddenly dragged out onto the dance floor by the other man.

"Of course," the man hummed happily, turning to pull Carlos into position as the band began to play a waltz. The man twirled with Carlos in his arms, grin on his face.

Carlos stared openly at the man, letting the other twirl him around without comment or complaint, mind too busy flipping through the members of the Palmer household, trying to figure out who this was, and why he bore such a striking resemblance to Cecil.

"My brother speaks highly of you," the man stated, spinning and dipping Carlos low without warning, or in step with any of the other dancers, causing Carlos to squeak indignantly and clutch at the man to keep from falling to the floor.

"Brother?" Carlos grunted, still hanging in the mans arms, his shoes sliding slightly against the marble floor, making his position precarious.

"Yes!" the man chirped, "Cecil. He talks about you a lot. So, of course, I just had to meet such a captivating man."

"How come I’ve never seen you before?" Carlos asked, shifting his footing to better balance himself in the awkward position, though consequently bringing himself closer to the other man.

The man shrugged, tightening his hold on Carlos. “I tend to keep to myself,” was his only reply.

"What’s your name?" Carlos asked, completely unaware of the way the other man was slowly drawing him in closer.

"Kevin," the man replied, smirking down at Carlos.

"I don’t think Mr.Palmer has ever even made mention of you. He’d been quite plain in introducing Cecil to me," Carlos grumbled absently, staring off just above Kevin’s shoulder.

"Oh," Kevin purred, "That would probably be because my father isn’t particularly fond of me. I tend to make a scene, and he doesn’t appreciate that much."

"A scene-?" Carlos began, only to be cut off as Kevin yanked him suddenly upwards, tongue invading his mouth. He squawked, flailing a little in Kevin’s hold, while biting down on the tongue licking along the roof of his mouth.

Kevin flinched back, grin on his face as a small trail of blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth. “Feisty,” he cooed, laughing as Carlos squirmed in his grip.

"Release me, this instant," Carlos hissed, gaze flickering around the room as people began to notice what was going on between the two men on the dance floor.

"Why would I ever want to do that?" Kevin hummed pleasantly, pulling Carlos into another bruising kiss. But, this time, Carlos spared no time in shoving himself out of the other’s grip, caring little for how he fell unceremoniously onto the hard marble floor, his tail bone stinging wickedly.

The dancers around them had all paused to watch the commotion, causing Carlos to flush in embarrassment and wipe at his mouth angrily. “What is wrong with you?!” he snapped, climbing back up onto his feet, casting a withering glance to those still staring. Most went back to dancing.

Kevin simply shrugged, licking his lips eagerly. “Not a thing!” he chirped, taking a step towards Carlos. To which, the scientist shook his head, and quickly turned, hurrying out of the ball room.

Low, of course, Kevin followed. “Leave me be!” Carlos snarled, glancing back at Kevin, only to have his wrist snatched the moment his paces slowed.

"Why? The way my brother speaks of you, I would’ve thought you’d be elated to have someone show some actual physical interest in you. After all, he’s rather old fashioned, you know. Wants to wait until he’s certain he’s in love or some rubbish. I would think a man of science would be a little more…Carnal," Kevin grinned, yanking Carlos towards his person.

Carlos stared openly at Kevin, eyes wide and cheeks flushed in anger. “Excuse me?!”

"Oh, come on. I look just like Cecil. You could just pretend," Kevin shrugged, smirk on his lips.

"You are most certainly nothing like Cecil," Carlos growled, yanking his arm free of Kevin’s grip.

"Carlos!"

The scientist turned, spotting Cecil hurrying down the grandiose hall, hair a mess, and clothes all askew. There were tears on his cheeks, which made the scientist worry as the young socialite ran over to them.

"Cecil?" Carlos murmured, stepping forward, hand outstretched uncertainly.

Cecil took the scientists’ hand, stepping up next to him with a soft smile, while using his free hand to wipe at his cheeks. “Sorry,” he murmured, before turning to his brother, his expression not but righteous fury. “How dare you!”

"What?" Kevin asked, feigning innocence, despite the blood still on his chin.

"You tied me up and locked me in my room!" Cecil nearly shrieked, drawing a few curious glances from those lingering in the hall.

"Well, if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to meet lovely Carlos," Kevin hummed, rocking back and forth on his heels. "You were so adamant about me not getting to see him. What else was I expected to do?"

"Stay away!" Cecil ranted, taking a quick step towards his brother. "You’re not even supposed to be out of the east wing! How did you get away from your nurses?!"

"I have my ways," Kevin shrugged, waving a dismissive hand through the air. "But, I suppose I should take my leave now. They’ll most likely be looking for me. Good night, dear brother," Kevin bowed, straightening and flashing Carlos a smirk. "Carlos."

Carlos stared after the other Palmer brother dumbfounded by the interaction he’d been witness to.

"I am so, so sorry, Carlos," Cecil finally said once his brother was out of sight, turning to give the scientist an imploring look. "I meant to be here before you even showed up, but my brother ambushed me, and, well…I think you’ve got the idea now."

"I do," Carlos nodded, regarding Cecil with curiosity. "How come I’ve never seen Kevin before?"

Cecil sighed, shuffling his feet a little. “Kevin…he’s got something wrong. In his mind. Part of the reason father hired you, was in hopes of you stumbling across something that might help us to, for a lack of better term, ‘fix’ him. He’s…Off balance.”

"I’d gathered that much," Carlos snorted, a quiet chuckle rumbling up from his chest.

"I’d be perfectly understanding if you wanted to leave now, after all of the fuss. You probably felt silly, too, in there all by yourself," Cecil dithered, brushing fingers through his hair idly to fix it back in its usual style. "Oh, I feel terrible for all this."

Carlos watched Cecil fidget and fix himself for a few long minutes, before smiling faintly. “Actually,” he finally said, sliding his heels together and offering Cecil his arm, “I do believe you owe me at least a dance, Master Palmer. Since you’ve put me through such stress.”

Cecil blinked at Carlos in surprise, before a light flush took his cheeks. “I think that could be arranged,” he hummed, gingerly taking Carlos’ arm.


End file.
